The choice over the future of Union Station is clear: Should this historic facility be a train station that serves 100,000 people or a hotel that serves 100?

It is that simple. We can resurrect Union Station and create a vibrant hub for commuters and Denver residents that protects taxpayers. Or we can insert a financially risky hotel that puts taxpayers on the hook, permanently changes the uses of the building, and puts transit passengers throughout the region in the back seat.

For more than 10 years, the community consensus has been to create one of the world’s pre-eminent transportation hubs — a gateway to our city, region and state that can serve travelers and the community for the coming century.

Many people aren’t aware just how big the role the station will play. Every day, 100,000 people will travel through Union Station, making it absolutely crucial that it be a state-of-the-art facility that can serve these travelers, whether they are commuting to work, the airport, a Rockies game or getting a late weekend night ride home.

That’s why we propose to return Union Station to its past glory and meet the needs of 21st century commuters and travelers. We offer a new, vibrant social setting, including a nationally prominent gourmet marketplace that will dramatically enhance the fabric of the neighborhood.

That is what is needed at Union Station. It’s what the facts dictate and what the market will bear.

In contrast, others have suggested the speculative development of a hotel, despite that fact that hotels have been proposed near there in recent years and not built because the market wasn’t there. While train stations have been transformed into other uses in cities where the station is obsolete, this is not the case in Denver. And once Union Station is a hotel, there’s no going back, even if the hotel fails — and hotels have been shown to have the largest default rate of any property type.

Our plan to renew Union Station also puts the financial risk on us — not on taxpayers, commuters and RTD. Our plan offers a low financial risk to the public, while offering a high reward for all.

By keeping the train station a train station, we will resurrect one of Denver’s signature places in a way that will meet today’s growing demand for transit and ensure that we will preserve this great landmark destination for generations to come.

Mark Smith is a founding principal of East West Partners. Mark Falcone is CEO of Continuum Partners LLC. They are principals in the Union Station Neighborhood Co.